What Really Happened
by TheLastShiningStar
Summary: Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are fighting against each other again, but something happens. Sesshoumaru suddenly leaves without a word of explanation and with strange expression on his face, leaving everyone to wonder about what really happened - Inuyasha/Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru/Izayoi
1. What Really Happened

I don't own Inuyasha

I had this chapter written on my computer for some time already. Just to make it clear, I didn't come out with this idea on my own, I've got the idea for this story after reading the story 'My Greatest Mistake' written by 'Marie Phantom'. Though, only the main idea is the same, other than that it's completely different. I hope you'll enjoy :).

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><p><strong>Chapter 01 - What Really Happened<strong>

The fight between Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha seemed to last for hours already. Inuyasha's friends were standing aside as they were told by him and just helplessly watched those two as they were practically trying to kill each other. Sesshoumaru's companions weren't present as Sesshoumaru never dragged Rin near fights and Jaken was ordered to look after her. Sesshoumaru struck at Inuyasha with his sword and Inuyasha managed to dodge it just in time.

"Inuyasha! Be careful!" Kagome shouted at him, but he didn't really paid her attention at that time. But the sentence caught attention of someone else.

_'Sesshoumaru! Be careful!'_ The same sentence yet from another voice rang through Sesshoumaru's mind and he almost failed to dodge Inuyasha's attack.

"Got tired already?" Inuyasha asked mockingly. Sesshoumaru growled and attacked Inuyasha again. But that strange sentence was still running through his mind. Was it an imagination? Or was it a memory? Then when did it happen? Whose was that voice?

Their swords clashed and Sesshoumaru caught a glimpse of the worried face of that strange priestess traveling with Inuyasha. She was standing there with her hands clutched to her heart, silently praying for Inuyasha's safety. Another, but very similar image replaced this one in Sesshoumaru's mind.

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><p>He walked through the gardens with a young woman walking beside him. She had a long black hair and pale skin and when he looked at her, she smiled at him. That made him uneasy for a while, but then he smiled back. Though, their peaceful walk was interrupted by some lower demon who appeared in front of them and Sesshoumaru growled in annoyance.<p>

"Stay back!" He said to the woman and she nodded. Right before he charged at the demon, he glanced at her to check if she is in safe distance. She was standing in the same posture with the same worried look on her face as the priestess traveling with Inuyasha and exactly in this moment the imagination and the reality mixed together.

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><p>"Please be safe." Both the real girl and the woman in his vision whispered simultaneously. Something in his mind snapped and the long time locked memories returned into his mind. His eyes widened as the memories started to sink in and he jumped back as he no longer wanted to cross his sword with Inuyasha's. He saw the confused look on Inuyasha's face and he couldn't handle anymore to be here so he took off without saying a word.<p>

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked confusedly, but nobody had any answer for him. As he looked over his friends, everyone was just shaking their heads and he sighed.

"Fine, let's go. There's no reason why to bother with him anyway." He stated and already set out in random direction. The others followed him without saying anything but the event left them wondering. What happened to him? He never withdrew from a fight like that. It was so sudden and they couldn't come up with any explanation at all.

After some time of walking Inuyasha suddenly stopped and they all looked in the direction where he was looking to find out what was happening. The two-headed dragon whom they saw with Sesshoumaru was flying up above them and now changed his direction towards them.

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><p>Jaken, Rin and Ah-Un were walking through the forest searching for their Lord. They were searching for him for some time already and Rin was getting tired.<p>

"I wonder where did he go this time." She was thinking aloud and Jaken sighed.

"Who knows." Jaken said tiredly but couldn't say anything else as one branch from some little tree hit him straight to the face. He fell backwards on the ground and Rin giggled.

"Master Jaken, you were just defeated by the tree." She giggled even more and Jaken growled.

"Be quiet Rin, that's not funny." He picked himself up and continued in his way angrily, Rin still secretly giggling. They went through some thick bushes and when they were on the other side, they spotted Sesshoumaru.

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><p>"What did you do to Lord Sesshoumaru you half-breed!" Jaken yelled at Inuyasha hopping off of the dragon. Inuyasha just stared at him not knowing what to think about it.<p>

"I didn't do anything to him, it was him who left from our fight like a coward!" Inuyasha then yelled back.

"Lord Sesshoumaru would never run away from the fight!" Jaken defended his Lord stubbornly.

"Well, he did so deal with it!" Inuyasha snapped at the small imp and hit him in the head. But before Jaken could complain about that action, they were interrupted by a voice on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Explain me more closely what exactly happened." Myouga directed his question at Jaken and everyone's attention turned from him at Jaken.

"We were searching for him in the forest since he didn't return for quite a long time. When we found him, he... he was..." Jaken stuttered searching for the right words.

"He looked like if he was about to cry." Rin stepped into the conversation and Jaken glared at her for saying it in such way.

"You silly girl. Lord Sesshoumaru would never cry!" He yelled at her, but she just folded her arms and looked at him sternly.

"But it's true." She said stubbornly.

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><p>"Lord Sesshoumaru! We finally found you!" Jaken exclaimed happily, but then he paused because something about his Lord's posture was off. He was sitting under the tree with his face buried into his palms and showed no reaction when Jaken spoke.<p>

"Did something happen to you Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin asked with concern and he looked at her. There was something in his eyes they never saw before. His face wasn't the emotionless mask he used to be wearing, but quite the opposite and both Jaken and Rin were startled at that discovery.

"Leave me alone." He stood up and walked away, leaving the confused demon and girl behind. They didn't follow him, too shocked by their lord's behavior and soon they lost him out of their sight.

"I wonder what happened to him." Jaken said after a while. "It must be that half-breeds fault. Let's go" He grabbed Rin's hand and led her to Ah-Un. They hopped on him and Jaken told him to find Inuyasha. They soared above the landscape in search for Inuyasha and his group. They spotted them and Ah-Un landed right in front of them.

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><p>"Master Inuyasha." Myouga broke in again. "And what exactly happened between you and Lord Sesshoumaru today?" He asked. Inuyasha looked at him and thought about it for a second.<p>

"Well, we were fighting like many times before, but then he suddenly backed away and left." Inuyasha tried to recall their earlier fight.

"Was there something unusual about him before he left?" Myouga asked.

"I don't know, but I had the feeling that he was looking at me right before he backed away. I have no idea why though, but his expression was strange at that time." Kagome answered instead of Inuyasha.

"So he remembered." Myouga said silently with sigh and everyone turned at him curiously.

"Remembered? What do you mean by that?" Inuyasha asked and Myouga's expression was something like 'Oh no! Did I say it aloud?'

"Eh, nothing Master Inuyasha." He said sweating hard. Inuyasha took the flea between his thumb and index finger and squeezed him there while asking again.

"What is it Myouga! Tell me now!" He demanded.

"I'm not allowed to tell you that information." Myouga said sheepishly. Inuyasha frowned and wanted to give the flea another squeeze when he was interrupted by something else.

"So you knew about that." A very cold voice stated from behind them and they all turned at the speaker as neither of them noticed the presence of the demon lord until now.

"Uhm, yes." Myouga stuttered. "Your father told me about that shortly before he died." He explained. The looks of everyone were turning between Myouga and Sesshoumaru in effort to understand something of what was happening here in front of them.

"I see. But why didn't you say anything?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"I knew you wouldn't believe me anyway." Myouga said truthfully. Sesshoumaru said nothing at that and there was silence before Inuyasha broke it.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" He looked from one to the other.

"If you want to know then follow me." Sesshoumaru stated and already turned in the direction he wanted to go, but then turned back when Inuyasha started to yell at him.

"Like hell I will follow you wherever you want to take me. Just say it here and now!" Sesshoumaru almost sighed. This wasn't something he could talk about in front of everyone. He had to talk with Inuyasha alone. Sesshoumaru drew out his sword and Inuyasha took defensive stance, but was surprised when Sesshoumaru drove the sword into the ground and turned to leave.

"Now, follow me." He ordered and Inuyasha suddenly felt that he shouldn't disobey his order. But something was off. Sesshoumaru left his sword in the ground and wanted him to follow him, why would he do such thing? Was he trying to deceive him somehow?

"Lord Sesshoumaru, are you sure about that?" Myouga asked and immediately regretted it when he met the gaze of said Lord as he turned at him.

"Will you try to stop me?" He asked coldly and the shiver ran through the flea's spine.

"Of course not." He stuttered. Sesshoumaru turned again and Inuyasha followed him. The two dog demons left the clearing, leaving everyone to wonder about what was going on.

"Myouga!" Kagome shouted at the flea, when Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were far enough. "You know what's going on here, now spill it!" He didn't answer and when she looked around to find him, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Seems like he ran away again." Shippo muttered and everyone nodded knowingly.

"Let's set up the camp. Whatever they are talking about now, it seemed that it will take some time." Miroku suggested and without saying anything, they started with the preparations.

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><p>Sesshoumaru led Inuyasha on top of a small hill where no one could overhear their conversation and there he stopped, Inuyasha stopping behind him.<p>

"So? What's the big deal?" Inuyasha started irritated. Sesshoumaru turned to face him and for some time just watched him silently.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Inuyasha asked a little unsettled by his brother's actions.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, for everything I've done to you." He looked straight to Inuyasha's eyes which widened after that declaration.

"W-What?" Inuyasha stuttered not believing his ears that he heard what he just heard.

"Like I said, I'm sorry." Sesshoumaru repeated. Inuyasha was shocked. Sesshoumaru never repeated anything he said, much less an apology. Especially the apology to him.

"Are you making fun of me? Did you get insane?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"I'm completely serious." Sesshoumaru assured him.

"So what is this all about?" Inuyasha asked still quite shocked.

"I will understand if you won't believe me or if you'll never want to talk to me again, but I have to tell you the truth." He paused, taking a deep breath and thinking about how to tell him this information while Inuyasha was waiting for him to continue.

"You are my son." He said finally, unable to say anything else. Inuyasha gaped at him, his eyes wide, the silence around them disturbed only by the blowing wind.

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><p>He was sitting under the tree, alone, his face buried into his palms as he let the memories fill his mind. The memories he had forgotten because of his father's spell. He almost didn't want to believe that those memories were his own, but he knew they were. The memories of the human woman who intrigued him at the first sight. The woman he spent so many nights with. The woman who was bearing his pup. The woman Izayoi. The pup Inuyasha.<p>

He remembered the conversation with his father after he found out about Izayoi's pregnancy and just a few hours before the memories about her were erased from his mind. He hated Inuyasha for so long, blaming him for his father's death which caused that Inuyasha hated him as well. Inuyasha, his son, hated him with his whole heart and it was all his own fault. He heard the rustling behind him, but he didn't care. He knew it was just Jaken with Rin.

Just yesterday he would be ashamed if someone saw him in the state he was in now. He didn't cry, but he was broken, sad, disgusted, angry. Broken because everything in what he believed was a lie. Sad for all those years he couldn't spend with his son. Disgusted of himself how he was acting all the years back towards Inuyasha and everyone else. Angry at himself that he made his only son hate him. All the emotions could be seen on his face if he didn't have it covered with his hands. Today he didn't care though.

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><p>"You're kidding, right? This is just a joke." Inuyasha managed to say finally.<p>

"This is not a joke." Sesshoumaru replied in a way which sounded like a calm response, but those who knew him better could tell that he wasn't calm in the least.

"I don't believe you." Inuyasha said quietly, but they both knew it was a lie.

"Inuyasha, I really loved your mother." Sesshoumaru started and Inuyasha closed his eyes not wanting to face the truth. "My father knew I wouldn't let her go. That's why he used a spell which made me forget about her. My father claimed you as his own for your protection. Half-demons are hated among the high ranked demons and they would surely tried to kill you. My father's status was enough to keep you safe at least from them, mine at that time wouldn't be." He paused and Inuyasha looked at him.

"What about my mother? Did he made her forget about you too?" He asked.

"I don't think so. I guess they made agreement about that in order to protect you." Sesshoumaru said. Inuyasha stayed silent.

"Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru said softly and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder who quickly shook it off.

"Don't touch me!" Inuyasha yelled and then ran off. Sesshoumaru watched him as he was disappearing from his sight and sighed. He didn't follow him. He said everything he wanted and now it was Inuyasha's turn to deal with that and it was better to leave him to do it alone. He stood there a little longer and then set out to pick up his sword and return to his companions.

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><p>To be honest, I have absolutely no idea where should I lead this story. With the idea of Sesshoumaru being Inuyasha's father, the scenario used in this chapter came to my mind almost immediately, but nothing more. I would gladly continue in this story but sadly, no ideas are coming. That's also the second reason for why am I posting it already, that some kind soul would give me some suggestion XD. The first reason is that I just really wanted to show it to you XD.<p>


	2. The First Meeting

Finally I was able to write second chapter for this story! At first I thought that I would write just one flashback chapter about Sesshoumaru and Izayoi, but as I started writing it, I realized that there will be much more ;). I'm still deciding about how exactly to continue this story, so any ideas are still welcome. I think that the next chapter could be held in the present and then I would return to the past again, but who knows XD. Now on to the story ;).

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><p><strong>Chapter 02 – The First Meeting<strong>

It wasn't something he would choose to do. It kind of happened itself and there wasn't much he could have said about it. He loved her. He really did, but now he was about to face his father in this matter and he knew it wouldn't be easy.

His father was always telling him that humans are weak and that they cannot be trusted and Sesshoumaru believed this statement for a long time. He believed it, until he met Izayoi.

She brought the light into his life and taught him that humans aren't all the same. That humans care about each other and that they are not weak. Their strength is just different from what his kind knew.

He was standing in front of the door which led to his father's room. He knew he had to tell him, but he was afraid of his reaction. It took him some time before he finally decided to move and he entered.

He didn't bother to knock at the door before entering. He knew his father knew about him and if he didn't want to be disturbed, he had enough time to react. His father raised his head to look at him and Sesshoumaru bit his lip from nervousness.

"What is it?" He asked calmly, noticing his son's hesitation. He deduced that whatever his son came to tell him, it was something of great importance and according to Sesshoumaru's nervousness, he guessed that he wouldn't like whatever news he was about to tell him.

"I... I have to tell you something." Sesshoumaru said uncertainly, lowering his head so his father couldn't read his expressions.

"Well, go ahead." The demon lord mentioned to his son to take a seat across from him and he did. Sesshoumaru was silent for a little longer, but then he started.

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><p>He was trying to get away from the place he hated so much. It wasn't the place itself he would hate, but rather the people in it.<p>

_You have to do this. You can't do that._

It was all the same every day, over and over and he was fed up with it. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

He knew the answer of course, he was the first and only son of the Lord of the West. Everyone had great expectations from him and even a little mistake was a cause for him to be punished. This was done only by his father, as no one else dared to lay their hands on him, but they would still be telling him what he's supposed to do.

He wanted to get away from all of it, but he wasn't a coward and he wouldn't run away from his responsibilities. Though, it couldn't stop him from at least thinking about it and from leaving once in a while for a peaceful walk.

He sat on the edge of a small pond and started to play with it's surface, shattering his own reflection in it. He was so caught up in watching the surface of the pond and in his own thoughts about his life in the castle, that he didn't even notice that someone was running his way.

When he finally realized the presence of that someone, it was already too late even for him to react and unprepared for the impact, he lost his balance and fell into the pond, the other person falling right on top of him.

"Please, help me." The girl pleaded with tears in her eyes and he raised his eyebrows in question.

"What makes you think I would even consider helping you?" He replied coldly, pushing her off of him, standing up and stepping out of the pond.

"Please, I beg you. They'll kill me!" Her voice was really desperate and he looked at her again.

"You pushed me into the pond and now you're begging me for help?" He asked with a hint of surprise and could see as she shivered under his gaze.

"I'm terribly sorry." She started, lowering her head shamefully, still sitting in the pond. "I didn't mean any offense to you, it was an accident. I was just trying to get away from my pursuers and I wasn't paying attention. If you help me, my father will reward you for your troubles." She said hoping that this could work.

"I have no need of your father's money." He stated, shattering all her hopes, and started to walk away. He could hear her sobs and the splashing of water as she was getting out of the pond and for some reason he felt that it wasn't right to just leave her there alone.

_She's just a human, why should I care?_ He growled to himself, but even after this declaration, the bad feeling didn't leave him, so he stopped and turned to look back at her. She wasn't looking at him, probably thinking that he was long gone and he appreciated it, because he still couldn't decide what to do.

He was just watching her, when three men, according to their clothes bandits, ran into his sight and when they spotted the girl, they smirked and started to walk up to her. They didn't notice him and focused only at the girl.

"So, you thought you could escape us?" One of them said mockingly and she looked up at them in fear, shaking uncontrollably. One of the men grabbed her by her hair and pulled her closer to him.

She yelped in pain and glanced towards her left, where she last saw Sesshoumaru, and was actually surprised that he was still there, but he didn't seem that he was about to do something. The bandit who was holding her hair was following her gaze and finally noticed that they weren't alone. Looking at Sesshoumaru, he smirked.

"Wanna join us?" He asked, but Sesshoumaru just cocked his head and kept watching.

"Hey, do you even understand what we're saying?" Another one said. Sesshoumaru still said nothing.

"Hmm, he looks like a stranger, maybe he speaks another language." The third one commented, gaining affirmative murmurs from the other two.

"Too bad we don't know any." The second one snickered and they all laughed.

"Then maybe we should show him what we have in mind." The first one smirked again and the other two nodded enthusiastically. They turned back to the woman and started to work on her clothes, but before they could get any further, she slapped one of them with her hand. That only made this one to hit her back and she fell on the ground, sobbing quietly at the pain and her bad predicament.

The one who got slapped made a step closer to her, but before he could actually reach her, he noticed that Sesshoumaru was already standing between him and the woman of his desire.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Seems that he just wanted her for himself." The other one complained irritated.

"You will not touch this woman." Sesshoumaru said threateningly and the three exchanged surprised looks.

"So you understand after all. Come on, let us have some fun too." The last one whined.

"If you value your life, then leave now." Sesshoumaru stated, but those three just chuckled.

"You must be kidding. There's three of us and you're alone and you don't even have a sword. Why should we listen to you at all?" They were all laughing hysterically, until the one who was holding the girl by her hair before, stopped at once and his head fell on the ground, his body soon following.

"What the hell..." One of the two remaining exclaimed, completely shocked by what happened. They both looked at Sesshoumaru, who was standing at the very same spot as before, but smirking evilly.

"How did you do that?" The second one asked with wide eyes, starting to slowly back away.

"Like this." Sesshoumaru stated and beheaded both of them with one swing of his poison whip. When their bodies laid still on the ground, he turned to the woman who was still sobbing, curled to the ball.

"It's over." He said evenly and she looked up to see if it was truth. As she was standing up, she was still massaging her cheek where she got hit before, but knowing that she was no longer in danger, she started to smile a bit.

"Thank you for saving me." She turned at Sesshoumaru, her smile a bit widening.

"Don't flatter yourself." He cut her out. "I was just disposing my father's land from these lowlifes." He pointed towards the three dead bodies and the girl frowned.

"This is my father's land." She stated and he looked at her as if amused. Even though he killed those men without using any sword, it seemed that she still didn't get who he really was. Of course her father was probably lord of this land, but it was also part of his father's land.

"Whatever." He stated and started to walk away, when he was again stopped by her.

"Please, would you accompany me on my way home?" She asked. "I'm scared that someone else might show up and I would really appreciate your protection." He looked at her and seeing that she was still a bit shaken, he sighed.

"Fine." He said simply and they started to walk. They were walking in silence for a while, but then she decided to try to find out something more about her savior.

"We didn't introduce ourselves to each other yet. My name is Izayoi. What's yours?" She looked at him with smile, but her smile faded a bit when she noticed that her companion didn't react at her words at all.

"Ok." She sighed. "If you don't want to tell me about yourself, then I will tell you something about myself." She suggested and started to talk about anything which just came to her mind.

He was listening to her, at first only because he really had no choice in that matter, but then he even started to be interested in it. When she paused in her speech for a little while, he decided to become part of the conversation as well.

"My name is Sesshoumaru." He stated simply, not really looking at her, but he turned at her when she stopped, with huge smile on her face, her eyes sparkling happily.

"Thanks for telling me." She said happily and they started to walk again.

"So, how old are you? It seems to me that we are in about the same age." She started again. "I'm seventeen." She quickly added, hoping that it could convince him to tell her, if she told him first.

Sesshoumaru looked at her with smirk, deciding what he should tell her. From her acting he assumed that she still didn't figure out who he really is. Maybe it was the highest time to let her know that.

"I'm much older than you'll ever be." He said, still with smirk, but she just chuckled. He looked at her questioningly, which only made her giggle more.

"Come on, stop joking around. How old are you? Really." She asked again and he just shook his head lightly in amusement. A small smile appearing on his face.

"I'm 348." He looked straight to her eyes, waiting for her reaction.

"Aww, cut it out. Humans can't live that long." She reminded him and this time it was him who chuckled. He was really amused by her naivety.

"Who ever said I'm human?" He winked at her and she stopped in her tracks.

She, of course, noticed that he was different. Who wouldn't. His long white hair was hard to miss, but she just thought that he dyed them. Also the color of his eyes was very unusual, but here she thought it was because of the light. She couldn't miss the ornaments on his face, the blue moon on his forehead and two magenta stripes on each of his cheeks, but she dismissed it, thinking that he was just some weirdo who liked to draw on his face.

Though, now that he practically said that he isn't human, she started to look at him differently. There was no way he could manage to dye his hair into such color. The color of his eyes definitely wasn't done only by the light and as she was watching him closely, she could tell for sure that there was no paint on his face, but that the markings were there naturally.

As she took in all the information, she suddenly remembered one of her conversations with her father. Conversation where he warned her about demons who could take an appearance of human and who were far more dangerous than the others. She started to shiver at the realization and was watching him with fear.

"Are you planning to kill me?" She asked, more in a whisper as she wasn't able to use her voice properly.

"Why would I bother with saving you if I wanted to kill you?" He asked evenly and she thought about it for a second. Then something what he said hit her and she smiled widely.

Sesshoumaru just watched her, surprised by her mood swings. First she's all joyful, then she started to fear him, which he didn't find that surprising, but now she was smiling again.

"So you weren't just getting rid of them. You really did it to save me." She was smiling happily and he looked at her in shock. He recalled what he said and was himself surprised that those words really came out of his mouth, but it didn't sound wrong to him for some reason.

"Let's go." He said to avoid talking about this matter any further and she giggled as she saw through his act, but didn't say anything. After a while she looked at him again.

"You know, I wanted to introduce you to my father and tell him that you saved me, but now I guess he wouldn't appreciate if I brought a demon to our home." She stated. He just nodded.

"But you can stay with me until we reach the borders of our town." She winked at him, but again, he just nodded. She deduced that she wouldn't get anything from him and so they continued in silence.

"Why aren't you afraid of me? You were before." He asked after a while, surprising her that he actually started to talk about something by himself.

"You said you're not going to kill me." She explained.

"Then why do you trust me? I could have lied to you." He looked at her with unreadable expression and she thought about the answer.

"If you really wanted to hurt me, you wouldn't be asking such questions." She winked at him victoriously and he just looked away from her, knowing that her answer made perfect sense, but he didn't want to admit it. She chuckled and then they were already at sight of her town.

"I think I should go alone from here. Thank you for the nice company." She smiled at him and knowing that he wouldn't answer her anyway, she just waved him and set out toward her home.

He watched her until she disappeared behind the gates and then decided that it was the highest time for him to go home as well.

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><p>Sesshoumaru looked at his father, searching for anything which would tell him what was his father thinking, but found nothing.<p>

"I don't see why you were so hesitant about telling me this. I don't know why you helped to that woman in the first place, but I don't see anything wrong with your actions. The woman is now in care of her own people and you have no need to be bothered about her anymore." His father commented, but Sesshoumaru just sighed.

"Well, this was actually just the start of it." He said and before he lowered his head again, he noticed as his father narrowed his eyes slightly at his declaration.


	3. Alone?

Alright, another chapter done. It didn't turn out as I thought it would, but well, I already got used to this fact XD. Anyway, I really like this chapter and any comments are highly appreciated, especially constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to tell me if you see anything wrong or amiss, I promise I won't eat you ;).

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><p><strong>Chapter 03 – Alone?<strong>

_No, this can't be happening. It must be some mistake. Maybe I just misunderstood or maybe I'm just dreaming right now._ Inuyasha was still running, not really caring about the direction. He still couldn't believe it, but even if he did, how was he supposed to deal with it?

Everything he believed in was one big lie. He thought that his father died while protecting him, but now he was told that his father was actually the person whom he thought to be his hated older brother. He didn't understand how could something like this happen. He had so many questions, but the only one whom he could ask was the only one he didn't want to see at the moment, if ever.

_Could he be just mocking me?_ That thought just crossed his mind, but he dismissed it as fast as it came. Sesshoumaru wasn't that kind of person. No matter what he thought about him, he wouldn't be making fun of him in this way. He would be calling him half-breed, or telling him how weak he is, but he wouldn't make up something like this just to piss him off.

Still, there was just no way Inuyasha would accept this as the truth, but the newly got information just didn't want to leave his mind. In effort to stop thinking about it, he ran faster and faster and he would be running much longer, if he wasn't stopped by the sea.

He was standing there on the beach, the silent waves just an inch from reaching his feet. As he couldn't be focusing on running anymore, all the emotions started to seep out, some of them showing on his trembling hands, which were clenched into the fists in effort to make it stop. The others making itself known in the form of a few silent tears.

"Damn it! There's no way I'm going to cry because of that bastard!" He exclaimed and punched his fist into the soft sand under his feet. There was just no way, but even though he himself said so, he just couldn't stop.

Why didn't anyone tell him? Why didn't his mother tell him, or at least gave him some hint or warning? He felt so betrayed and regardless the current situation, alone.

"Inuyasha, why are you here so alone?" A voice asked from behind him. A voice he knew all too well. Though, today there was something different about the way he spoke, but Inuyasha just couldn't put a finger on that. Not that he thought about it that much.

"Naraku!" All Inuyasha's feelings were put into that single word as he strode after him and cut him in half with his claws. He didn't even bother to take out his sword. He needed to get the anger out of him.

There was no barrier protecting him, but it was just a puppet. Not that Inuyasha was surprised about it, but it made him even more angry. Another puppet appeared to his left and he immediately attacked it again.

"Inuyasha, would you stop with it please?" Another puppet appeared behind him.

"Why should I?" Inuyasha snapped back angrily and again destroyed the puppet. Neither of the puppets was trying to dodge any of his attacks and it made Inuyasha even more furious.

"I don't want to fight with you. I just came to make an offer to you." Yet another puppet said, before Inuyasha destroyed it again.

"Just shut up and get the hell out of my sight or show up by yourself. I'm not in the mood to play your games!" Inuyasha yelled at him again.

"Then stop attacking me, you should have already realized it's meaningless, and just listen to my offer." Another Naraku's puppet suggested, and even though with anger clear on his face, this time Inuyasha didn't attack. Some of the first rage already left him and those leftovers were easier for him to surpass.

"So, what do you want?" Inuyasha asked with suspicion, ready for anything Naraku could do.

"I want to help you." Naraku said calmly and Inuyasha just watched him, not believing to his ears.

"What? Do you think I'm crazy? Why should I believe you something like this?" He snapped, but Naraku just smirked.

"I don't expect you to trust me, but think about what I want to tell you and be honest, if not to me than at least to yourself. My first question is about what were you talking with Sesshoumaru." Naraku started.

"That's none of your business!" Inuyasha snapped back, almost preparing to attack him again, but Naraku just nodded.

"Alright, alright. You don't need to answer it to me, just answer it to yourself." He paused for a while to let Inuyasha think about it and then, when he was sure that Inuyasha settled his thoughts, he continued.

"Then what about Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kagome? Why do you think they are hanging around you?"

"We are friends. Why are you asking me this?" Inuyasha tried to convince more himself than Naraku. He knew where he was leading this.

"You are just a half-demon while they are a monk, demon slayer, demon kid and a priestess. Neither of them has a reason to stay with someone like you, so why would they?" He left the question hang there for a few seconds, leaving Inuyasha to think about it, before he answered it for him.

"They are just using you for your strength and once they won't need you anymore, they'll just leave you and you'll be alone just like before."

"That's a lie!" Inuyasha interrupted Naraku's speech. He was trembling again. He himself was thinking about this possibility once in a while, but hearing it from someone else, even if it was Naraku, wasn't something he could handle at the moment.

"Then let's give it some thought. Why did Miroku, Sango or Shippo join you? It wasn't because of you but because of Kagome and she is your main problem. She is controlling you through those beads around your neck. Just think about how many times she used them without any proper reason. She's enjoying it and you don't even see it." Naraku paused, watching Inuyasha's reaction.

This was too much for him. First it was Sesshoumaru who told him that unbelievable information about their relationship and now it was Naraku who was telling him his deep hidden worries. He didn't want to listen to it, but he couldn't make himself to move. Even if he could, he knew Naraku could easily follow him.

He wasn't looking at Naraku anymore. Instead he hung his head down and closed his eyes, his fists clenched to the extent that his claws were starting to draw blood from his palms.

The first drop of his blood fell soundlessly on the white sand, soon followed by the second one and then other and another. Neither Inuyasha or Naraku cared about it. It wasn't really important at the moment. This kind of wound would heal in no time anyway.

"Why are you staying with that girl?" Naraku asked again.

"She can see the jewel shards." Inuyasha answered numbly.

"Is that really the reason? Isn't the reason rather the fact that she resembles Kikyo?" Naraku continued, making Inuyasha to look straight at him.

"It was your fault that we started to hate each other!" He snapped at him. Naraku just chuckled.

"You really think that your relationship could work? She's like the others. She would betray you sooner or later by herself, I just helped you to realize your mistake before it was too late. Before she would convince you to become human, making you defenseless. That was never what you really wanted anyway, am I right? You've wanted to become full-blooded demon, not a human."

"Are you trying to tell me that you did that to help me? What makes you think I will believe you this. If I became human, we could have lived together. It was you who destroyed it." Inuyasha snapped.

"Just think about it for a second. Even though you're a half-demon, you're strong. What if she just didn't have the power to destroy you by herself and that's why she used this tactic to make you powerless? How can you be so sure what were her real intentions? You've wanted to become full-blooded demon, but she practically convinced you to do the opposite. If I didn't stop her, you would be dead by now, or if you by any chance were able to stay alive, you would be wrinkled old man already." Naraku said with seriousness.

"Then why did you attack me, pretending to be Kikyo?" Inuyasha asked in hope Naraku wouldn't have any acceptable answer for that, but it was a mistake.

"I needed to open your eyes to make you realize that she wasn't really on your side. If you think about it a little bit more, then if not for Onigumo's interference, I would have killed Kikyo that day and you would have been able to run away with the Shikon jewel, and make your wish become true. It was just an unfortunate accident that she still had enough life to seal you to that tree."

"You're just trying to manipulate me. I'm not going to listen to you anymore." Inuyasha yelled, but Naraku stayed calm.

"If you don't trust me, maybe you'll trust to your own eyes and ears. I can't prove you my suspicions about Kikyo from that time, but I have a proof about that girl Kagome. They are not so different from each other. Kanna!" He called the little girl and she showed her mirror to Inuyasha. He at first wanted to back away, remembering the incident with the mirror stealing their souls, but nothing like that happened and instead of that, he could see some images in it.

He soon realized that it were his friends whom he saw there and in a moment even the voices became clear.

"What? You've told him that and he believed you?" Kagome asked Sesshoumaru, suppressing her laugher. He nodded smirking.

"Oh, I can't believe he's such a fool. Well, I'm glad we've met you. With you we don't need him anymore and you're much stronger than him anyway." She winked at him and Miroku, Sango and Shippo nodded enthusiastically to her statement.

"Yeah, and you're not mean to me as he was." Shippo added with wide smile, receiving a reassuring hug from Kagome.

"We should probably leave before he returns, if he ever plans to do that anyway." Miroku suggested and everyone quickly stood up nodding, packed their things and set out following Sesshoumaru who took the lead.

Kanna turned the mirror away, leaving Inuyasha to think about what he just saw, and returned to stand a few steps behind Naraku, though, this time not bothering to hide completely as her presence was already revealed.

Inuyasha was disgusted by his friends' happy faces and by the betrayal they set upon him. Or were they his friends anymore? Why did they do this to him? Was he really just someone they were using for his strength? Even if so, should he trust to Naraku? He knew what he was capable of doing and that he was just manipulating with people, but whom he should turn to now after he discovered this?

"I don't need your answer now. I know it's not an easy decision, but I want to help you. After all, we're the same and we both want the same thing. What's more, before you've met Kikyo, you wouldn't hesitate to use the same means as me to get your goals, so why are you hesitating now? Because Kagome wouldn't allow it? Because she wouldn't like it? Who is she to tell you what you should do?" Inuyasha's anger grew just after hearing her name. It was something he couldn't control and it surprised him.

"But I have no reason to trust you either." He snapped at Naraku, trying to forget about the feelings he just had.

"Of course and I understand that, but maybe this could help you in your decision." Naraku stretched his arm towards Inuyasha and he couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw there.

"Here is half of the Shikon jewel," Naraku told him calmly, "it will give you the power to get rid of the subjugation beads that priestess set upon you. I can't give you all the shards I have, because it would lessen my power and they could find me and destroy me, which I can't let to happen, but I'm giving you the bigger part as you will need it more than me right now." Inuyasha just stared at him and at the jewel. He knew Naraku had about three quarters of the jewel in his possession at the moment and now he was offering him half of the jewel, just like that.

"There's something wrong with the shard, isn't there? Something that you will be able to control me if I take it." Inuyasha asked with suspicion, but Naraku just chuckled and shook his head.

"There's nothing wrong with it. It's just the shard and I only want to give you the power it provides. You know yourself the best how strong your friends are, especially if they join forces, and without this you probably won't be able to defeat them."

Inuyasha paused. He didn't want to defeat them. They were his friends, weren't they? How could he even hurt them? But then the image of them laughing at him together with Sesshoumaru entered his mind again and he grabbed the jewel and without saying anything, he just took off.

Naraku smirked. He didn't think it would be _that_ easy to manipulate him, but whatever Sesshoumaru told him served well to his purposes. Inuyasha was full of rage and Naraku knew that he wouldn't be able to fight against the power of the jewel shard and that it would surely take over him soon enough.

He would become just a killing beast with it's aim towards his, as he thought former, friends and however would this fight end, it would be all good with Naraku.

It was either Inuyasha killing some or all of them, or them killing him, which wasn't very likely as they would try to save him first, so it would be rather the first option, which he liked more anyway. Inuyasha was already in his grasp and if the others would die, then there would be no other real threat for him.

Yes, everything was going according to his plan and as long as Inuyasha would stay on his side, there was nothing he would have to be bothered about.


	4. Runaway

**Chapter 04 – Runaway**

"Lady Izayoi, where are you going?" The soldier's voice stopped her as she was trying to sneak out of her room to the gardens.

"Just the gardens." She assured him with smile, but he didn't seem to be convinced.

"I'm sorry, but I have orders not to let you out of your room." He said humbly, she frowned a bit, but quickly regained her neutral face, so the soldier wouldn't notice. It wasn't lady-like to frown, especially when someone else could see it.

There was much more rules what she could and couldn't do and of course she knew them all very well, but that couldn't stop her rebellious nature. She didn't like to be chained to her responsibilities and others' expectations. She liked to be free, but with her status, she knew it was impossible for her.

Still, once in a while she sneaked out of the castle and just wandered around. She couldn't go through the main gates, but she found a way out leading from the gardens. That was very convenient for her as she spent most of her free time there, but now it seemed that even that was now forbidden to her. She knew it had something to do with her last trip outside, but there was also something else.

Lately there were rumors that a demon was lurking around the castle. No one was ever able to lay their eyes on that demon, but the presence of some was confirmed by several monks and priestesses.

For some reason, from the first time she heard about it, she concluded that the demon must have been Sesshoumaru. At least that was what she thought and she refused to believe in anything else. She wanted to meet him again, but as long as she would be locked in the castle, she knew there wasn't many chances for her. She had to get out and see him at any cost. It didn't even cross her mind that the demon outside might have been someone completely different.

"But today is such a lovely day, it would be a shame to spend it inside." She opposed, putting all her charm into her words. The soldier hesitated.

"I understand, however, your father..." He started, but she, forgetting her good manners, quickly interrupted his speech.

"My father isn't here now. I'll be there just for a while, no one will ever find out about it." She said with pleading voice and puppy eyes.

There was very few men who would be able to resist her when she wanted something and she was very skilled in using this ability of hers. So, after a not so long while of her longing look, searching for a bit of kindness in the soldier's heart, his will broke and he sighed.

"Alright, but only for a little while and I will be watching you all the time." He tried to sound strict, in effort to gain back a bit of his lost authority. Izayoi hugged him lightly and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, before rushing to the gardens with smile.

The soldier stood on his place completely stunned, which was exactly according to Izayoi's plan. When he's finally got over his shock, Izayoi was already long gone. He quickly ran to the gardens, where he hooped she would be, but even after he searched it all, she was nowhere to be found. At that moment he knew he was in trouble.

Izayoi quickly climbed up the tree which connected her with the outside world, knowing that her guardian would arrive sooner or later. Just as she was ready to jump down on the other side, she saw him running out of the building. She smiled mischievously and then jumped.

Once she was behind the wall, there was nothing and no one who could stop her anymore and she started slowly strolling away through the forest which surrounded their castle. She still had to be careful about stepping too close to the road. She could never know who would appear there and take her back.

For someone watching her, it might seem that she was going in random direction, but her route was clearly set. She was heading to the place where she saw Sesshoumaru for the last time. That was the place she would expect him to be and deep inside her heart she knew he would be there.

Slowly reaching that place, her heart started to beat rapidly from excitement. There was no hesitation in her steps and no doubt in her heart. She would meet him today for sure. There was nothing what could stop her. Even if he wasn't at that place, she would search for him until she would find him.

Since she returned to the castle, there was nothing else on her mind. Whenever his face popped up in her mind, she would smile. Her eyes would be bright and happy and deep inside her stomach, there was that strange, but pleasant feeling she's never felt before in her whole life. The feelings she had could be compared only to those of when she was little and her father returned after being away for a long time, but even that was still pretty far from what she was feeling now.

Finally she reached the spot she had in mind and a wave of disappointment ran through her body, the proof of it her quickly saddened look. She was so sure he would be here. She would bet anything, that's how certain she was, but the place was empty. Only the slow breeze was accompanying her now.

She collapsed on the ground into a sitting position and slowly caressed the soft grass with her hand. She was exactly on the spot where he stood that time and while closing her eyes, she was trying to imagine he was here with her. At this moment, right beside her.

The wind was playing softly with her hair and she smiled, imagining that it was him who was playing with her hair like this. She hugged herself lightly with her hands and thought how it would be nice if it was him hugging her this way.

Lost in the moment, she didn't realize, she wasn't alone anymore. She realized that only when someone rudely grabbed her upper arm and she yelped in surprise and a bit from pain. She turned to look at her attacker only to be met with three practically identical faces of men she never saw before. Or were they even men?

The only thing which was differing them from each other were their hair as each of their heads had different color. The one with yellow hair was currently holding her arm, mischief flashing from his deep brown eyes in uncomfortable amount. The other two had also brown eyes, but the one with blue hair was sending her just a cold look, while the one with red hair had his eyes full of life and wildness, grinning widely. She didn't like the look in either of their eyes, but she didn't have time to think about it for too long as a strong shock ran through her body and she fell unconscious on the ground.

* * *

><p>She woke up with a horrible headache. Slowly opening her eyes and surpassing a hiss which was trying to escape from her lips, she carefully looked around herself. Her and all her captors were in some cave, the blue one sitting close to the entrance on watch, while the other two were sitting around a fire. She herself was further inside and even if her hands weren't tied behind her back, she would have practically no chance of escape. Her legs were also tied together, but it wasn't rope or anything of that sort she was tied with. It was something different. Something cold.<p>

Ice!

She quickly shifted into sitting position and looked at her legs and with some effort she could even see her hands. Around her ankles and wrists there was a big mass of ice and her heart started to beat faster from fear. This wasn't possible. In human terms at least. Thinking about it this way, she looked towards her captors, who had already turned their heads towards her at her sudden movement and she started to shake at the undeniable truth. Her captors were demons and they definitely weren't friendly as Sesshoumaru was.

Were these the demons lurking around their castle? Was she mistaken when she thought that it was Sesshoumaru? She wanted to believe so much that he would come to see her again that she never even though about another possibility and now here she was. Alone with three terrifying demons with whatever intentions they had with her.

The red one stood up and slowly walked towards her. She tried to crawl away from his incoming form, but with her hands and legs tied as they were, it wasn't really working. Moreover, she also realized that she was almost at the wall, so there was nowhere she could crawl to anyway. The demon stopped right in front of her and bent down to her.

"She's shivering, probably from cold. I told you she is just a human so she wouldn't be able to withstand the ice-cuffs." He looked briefly at the blue one who just shrugged.

"Do you have any other idea how to tie her up? I'm sure she'll be able to bear it a little longer. Just leave her be." He said in monotone voice and again turned towards the outside, scanning the area.

"You know, I think both of you are mistaken in one thing." The yellow one spoke, gaining the attention of the rest of the occupants in the cave.

"Maybe she isn't shivering from cold. Maybe she's just that scared of us." He grinned widely and the red one looked back at her. After examining her for a few seconds, he moved another inch towards her and she flinched. He smirked and turned away from her, walking back to the fire.

"You're right. It's so simple. Why didn't I think of it in the first place?" He muttered, the yellow one shot him a knowing smirk.

"Well, that's probably because I'm the smartest one." He grinned, the red one frowned.

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm at least as smart as you." The red one opposed.

"Oh, really? You can't even count to three and you think you can compare yourself with me?"

"What did you say?"

"So now you even went deaf? Or your simple brain just can't process what I said?"

"How dare you! Take it back!"

"Not in a million years!"

"You...!"

"Shut up you two." The blue one sitting at the entrance spat at them. "You're acting like little kids. If you want to keep ranting about it then go somewhere else. I'm in no mood for listening to your stupid disputes." The two went quiet and looked at each other with guilty faces.

"I'm sorry brother." The red one started.

"No, I'm sorry, I started it." The yellow one took the blame on himself.

"That's not true, if I didn't go to check on her and didn't misunderstand the situation, none of this would have been said."

"And I'm telling you it's my fault."

"Hey you two! I told you to stop!" The blue one scolded them again and this time neither of the two said anything else, knowing that it would probably just end up in another argument.

If Izayoi wasn't so scared, she would probably start to laugh, but right now it really wasn't the moment for that. Despite her fears, she decided to find out something about her predicament.

"Uhm, what are you going to do with me?" She asked almost in a whisper, but she knew they would hear her. The three brothers looked at her with rather amused faces, though, she could swear she also saw a hint of surprise. Then they looked at each other, probably thinking about what should they say.

By the looks of their expressions it looked as if they were holding a discussion, but no words were said. Though, what she could deduce from the expressions, she started to regret she ever asked anything. In the end, the blue one averted his eyes back to look outside, the red one stared into the fire and the yellow one stood up and went to her.

"Curious, aren't we?" He crouched down to her, so they would be at the same eye level, a smirk flashing across his face.

"Well, you'll probably kill me sooner or later, so I thought that I might at least know what's going to happen to me before that." She said fearfully, lowering her eyes. The man in front of her laughed.

"Kill you? Where did you get that from? If we wanted to kill you, you would be already dead." She looked at his still laughing form, now getting scared even more. Of course, death was scaring her, but she was sure that she would like it more than whatever they had in plan for her, if they wanted to keep her alive. All the scary tales about demons she was hearing when she was a child resurfaced to the front of her mind and she again started to shake.

"Then what?" She insisted on her question, even though her voice was starting to betray her feelings. The person in front of her stopped laughing and put on a serious face for a change.

"We are going to offer you to our master as a mistress, so you'd better act accordingly or you'll meet a fate much worse than death." He said darkly, a smirk again appearing on his face. When he saw her scared look, he started to laugh again and with that he returned to the fire.

She was trying to stay strong. She didn't want these demons to see her weakness, but with the thought of becoming a mistress of some demon she didn't even know, the tears started to flow out of her eyes before she could stop them. Why didn't she just listen to the warnings? Why couldn't she stay in the castle? Why did she even believe that Sesshoumaru would want to see her again? He was a demon, just like these were. They didn't care about humans and their feelings.

When he saved her that day, maybe he really didn't do it for her. Maybe he just found her amusing for some reason and that's also why he stayed with her until she was safe. She didn't mean anything to him and now she would end up in hands of some other demon and she didn't even want to think about what was going to happen to her there.

Even through her weeping, she noticed the change in the atmosphere and she looked up to see what was going on. She couldn't wipe her tears away, as her hands were still tied behind her back, but after a while she managed to blink them away just enough to see what was happening around her.

In the place where used to be an entrance to the cave, was now a wall of ice, all three of her captors looking towards it. She had no idea what was happening. Were they attacked? She didn't see their faces so she couldn't tell by that, but she noticed that they all were in fighting stance. The blue one with his hands stretched in front of him towards the ice wall, probably trying to keep it in place. The red one had his hands in fists, which were surrounded by fire, while the yellow one had sparks all over his body, the strongest sparks on his hands similarly to the one with fire.

Barring the sound made by the sparks and by the fire, the cave was completely silent. Izayoi even stopped breathing, holding her breath in anticipation. What was going to happen? After surveying her surroundings, she was pretty sure they were attacked, but by whom? She wasn't sure if she wanted to meet the attacker. If it were the people from the castle, these three wouldn't be so tense. It must have been someone stronger, much stronger and in the end she could end up even in more trouble than she was now. She could hear the fastened beating of her heart, and in effort to not think about her fear, she started to count.

_One... Two... Three..._

It was too fast. So fast, that she was starting to wonder if her heart would withstand the pressure.

_Four... Five... Six..._

Why wasn't anything happening yet? It's dragging for too long. Was anything going to happen at all?

_Seven... Eight... Nine-_

CRACK!

A loud shattering noise rang through the cave as the wall of ice gave up after whatever force collided with it. Izayoi quickly turned away, covering herself from the spears of ice which were now flying in every direction. Even when the sound of shattering ended, she didn't dare to look that way. She was surprised when she didn't feel any of those spears hit her, but she was too scared to check on the situation. She was once again surrounded by silence, this time even deeper than before as there was no cracking of electricity or flames to be heard anymore.

"Are you going to make it a habit that every time we meet, you'll be in need of help?" A calm voice stated from behind her and her eyes widened. It was the voice she wanted to hear so much. A voice which belonged to the person she wanted to meet more than anything else. But why would that person be here? Could it be her imagination? What if she turned around and nobody would be there, or worse, her captors would be there?

"Are you hurt?" The same voice asked again and this time she knew it wasn't an imagination. She quickly turned around, wide smile on her face as she shook her head that she was alright. She couldn't believe her eyes. He was really here. He came to save her. Sesshoumaru was... bending closer to her!

Her eyes widened. What was he doing? His face was coming closer to hers and her heart again started to beat faster than normal. He was so close. She knew she should stop him, because it wasn't appropriate, but she didn't really want to. Even if she did, she wouldn't have the strength for that. Instead, she closed her eyes and waited.

What happened afterwards wasn't exactly what she was expecting. She felt the ice around her wrists starting to melt and she opened her eyes in embarrassment when she realized how she misunderstood the situation. He was bent over her, so he could have an access to her wrists and he seemed to be focused only on that. Their faces were only an inch from each other and she had to look away so he wouldn't notice just how red her face was.

When her hands were free, he moved to her ankles and she watched what he was doing. Some green liquid was seeping out of his claws and he seemed to be careful about not letting it touch her skin. The liquid was melting the ice with a hissing sound, and she didn't have to think about it too much to figure out what damage it would do if she actually touched it.

When even her legs were free, he finally looked at her and their eyes locked. As she was looking at his calm face, the tears again started to make their way out of her eyes, but this time it were tears of relief, and realizing that she was really safe now, she threw her arms around his neck and started to cry uncontrollably.

"I was so scared! I wanted to see you again so much that I didn't listen to the warnings and when I ended up here..." The rest of her words was lost in her sobbing. Neither of them said anything for a while, Izayoi slowly calming down.

"I'm so glad you came." She then looked at him with gratitude, managing to form a small smile on her face. Her lips were trembling and she noticed as Sesshoumaru frowned.

"Are you cold?" He asked, surprising her a bit, but when he said it, she started to feel it. She _was_ cold. Very, very cold and she noticed it only now, when the situation finally calmed enough for her to have time to be bothered about these things. She nodded, suddenly not trusting her voice anymore and when Sesshoumaru drew her into his embrace, slowly picking her up, she only snuggled closer.

"I'll take you home, they'll take care of you there." He informed her and she again just nodded. Their way back to her home was silent. Izayoi was too tired for saying anything and Sesshoumaru wasn't very talkative in the first place. Only when they arrived at the sight of the town and Sesshoumaru stopped, Izayoi finally spoke up.

"Will I see you again?" She asked, Sesshoumaru looked at her as if thinking.

"You shouldn't seek my presence again. I'm sure neither of our fathers would allow it." He informed her. She slumped her head, knowing all too well that he was right. He set her on the ground, letting her lean against the closest tree, as she was still too weak to keep standing. She looked up at him with plead and silent question in her eyes, but he quickly looked away.

"The guards are already searching for you. They'll come this way in a while and when they find you, they'll take you back. Until then I'll stay close to keep you safe, but after that, you should forget that we've ever met." He didn't look at her again and within a blink of an eye, he was gone.

She lowered her head in sadness. He told her to forget, but how was she supposed to do that? She knew she couldn't, even if she actually tried, but she didn't even want to try. She didn't want to forget, even if those two times were the only times they'd meet, she didn't want to let that go. Even if she was to never meet him again, she wanted to at least keep her memories about those two events where she actually could be with him.

She heard some voices coming closer and she knew it were the guards. That's right, she ran away again and she knew she would be in trouble for that. She didn't want to forget, but she would have to stop thinking about Sesshoumaru for a while, for now she would have to deal with her father and she couldn't afford to be distracted by anything.

But she knew she would be alright. As long as she knew _he_ was somewhere out there, she would be fine. Even if she couldn't meet him again, the knowledge of him being there was enough for her to allow her to keep going. Maybe, if she wished for it hard enough, they _would_ meet again after all.

* * *

><p>Only when I had this almost done, I realized that the first time, she was attacked by <em>three<em> men, now she was attacked by _three_ demons, I wonder when I'm going to stop this habit XD. Also, I have a feeling that I'm writing Izayoi very similarly to Kagome, what do you think?


End file.
